CRL in the News

The percentage of South Florida households without a bank account— the so-called unbanked — rose in 2017 even as the national percentage fell last year, a new government survey shows. A full 8 percent of households in the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach metropolitan area were unbanked, borrowing money or cashing checks outside the banking system, according to...

Meet the new payday loan. It looks a lot like the old payday loan. Under the Obama administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau attempted to rein in abusive payday lending, by, among other measures, forcing lenders to ensure borrowers had the means to pay back their loans. The Trump administration, under interim CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney, is looking to roll...

“Not only has the legislature not done anything to reduce the harm, it has taken affirmative steps to expand the harm,” said Diane Standaert, executive vice president and director of state policy for the Raleigh, N.C.-based advocacy group Center for Responsible Lending. Consumer advocates in Mississippi agree. “I’ve heard it said that any business is a good business in Mississippi...

Senator Kamala Harris, a California Democrat and potential 2020 presidential contender, has a Trump-size tax plan of her own. There are two other related issues the proposals would target. The first, as Harris said, is the persistence of payday lending in depressed neighborhoods and among lower-income families. Even given the good economy, and even given the passage of the Dodd-Frank...

"They claim that these loans are different, are safer, are more affordable, but the reality is they carry all the same markers of predatory loans," said Diane Standaert, director of state policy at the Center for Responsible Lending. These markers include their high cost, the ability of lenders to access borrowers’ bank accounts, and that they are structured to keep...

It’s unclear exactly what led to the situation in Detroit, although the tough economic situation for the city and its residents in recent years has certainly contributed. The company has been investigated by regulators for potential wrongdoing, and it has faced accusations in cases across the U.S. of duping car buyers into taking on untenable loans, however no current probes...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's decision to stop examining financial firms for compliance with the Military Lending Act has sparked pushback not only from lawmakers and consumer advocates but also from the Defense Department and every major group representing military service members. Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney's claim that the Dodd-Frank Act does not give the bureau statutory authority to...

Thousands of Marriott workers around the country are on strike, complaining that stagnant wages and unsteady hours have made it difficult to stay afloat. At a time when they are under particular pressure, the credit union may be adding to their struggles. Overdraft fees in particular have provoked controversy within the credit union world. “We have a hard time taking...

Fifty consumer groups are calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to withdraw a plan allowing fintech firms to test financial disclosures on consumers. The groups argue the CFPB’s "disclosure sandbox" proposal, which would provide certain legal safe harbors to participating companies, exceeds the CFPB’s statutory authority and would put consumers at greater risk.

How much has the market learned from the financial crisis a decade back? And are we prepared for the next crisis? Looking specifically at the housing market, Michael Calhoun, President of the Brookings Center for Responsible Lending said in a recent paper that while regulatory safeguards that were put in place subsequent to the crisis have made today’s housing market...